After an arduous nine-month stint aboard the International Space Station, astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita Williams are finally homeward bound, sharing their journey with fellow Crew 9 members Nick Hague and cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov. Their extended stay wasn't due to a sightseeing extension, but rather a cascade of technical difficulties that befell Boeing's Starliner on its maiden crewed mission back in June. According to CBS News, the astronauts undocked early Tuesday, signaling the end to what has become an unexpected space marathon.

The initial plan for Wilmore and Williams involved a brief eight-day stay in orbit, which ballooned to 286 days due to propulsion system helium leaks and thruster issues in the Starliner craft. The Crew 9 astronauts, including Hague and Gorbunov, had their own earlier ride aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon in September and are now chaperoning the stranded pair back to Earth's gravity. WGNTV reported that the SpaceX capsule is slated for splashdown off Florida's Gulf Coast on Tuesday evening.

During their nearly year-long space residence, Wilmore and Williams circled the globe for a total of 121 million miles, while Hague and Gorbunov's counter sits at a slightly more modest but still impressive 171 days in space, as per CBS News. These stints required adjustment, as all station astronauts subjected themselves to two hours of daily exercise to counteract muscle and bone degeneration in zero gravity.

As this chapter closes on yet another spacefaring saga, the role of private companies like SpaceX in facilitating astronaut returns during unforeseen circumstances becomes ever more crucial. "That’s the nature of the game, and I think we need both private industry and government involved in space, because it creates this healthy balance of competition," Hernandez told WGNTV in a recent interview.